Time for a nice little bounce-back win against the Pacers. That’s what you’re thinking. That’s what I’m thinking. Problem is, these Pacers aren’t that bad. In fact, they have a better winning percentage than the Miami Heat. Keep Reading…

Huge thanks to my lovely wife, Patrick James and anyone else that chipped in for keeping this place afloat in my absence. Because I’m thankful, here’s a special Thanksgiving edition of the Bolts for you fine people, complete with my thoughts on Collison’s extension and Aldrich’s D-League demotion.

Darnell Mayberry on last night’s game: “If I’m a Thunder fan, I’m worried about the attitude Thunder coach Scott Brooks and his players took after this one. Those 3-point bombs provided a convenient excuse for how this one got away. Players and coaches explained this loss by Dallas getting hot from 3 at the right time. And that, of course, makes it easy to overlook what the team didn’t do right at the other end. The offense was again dismal in the fourth quarter. The Thunder shot 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) in the final frame, and had it not been for a few early Serge Ibaka buckets (one being a putback) and a few garbage time scores, this one would have looked much worse.” Keep Reading…

Not in the sense that losing to the Mavericks should garner shame. Dallas has a pretty excellent squad and is absolutely a legit contender in the West. Losing at home is never good, but dropping a game to the 9-4 Mavericks isn’t something you should break living room furniture over.

HOWEVER. The way the Thunder lost this game is what’s so souring. The Mavericks closed the game on a 31-13 run that included a 13-0 spurt that turned a seven-point Thunder lead into a three-point deficit. But that’s not where OKC blew this one. The Thunder lost with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Keep Reading…

Marc Stein breaks down the Nick Collison contract: “Leave it to Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti to conceive a contract extension for glue-guy forward Nick Collison that forces me to consult every salary-cap reference book I can find. This is a fun one. Sources with knowledge of the contract specifics told ESPN.com that the value of the four-year extension that starts in the 2011-12 season is a modest $11 million and change. Highly favorable numbers for the Thunder.”

Darnell Mayberry did a nice Q&A with Collison on the extension: “Q: Did you see it coming? A: I think players would always like to get a little bit of security and kind of knowledge of the future and what’s going to happen. Sam (Presti) came to me with an opportunity to maybe get something done. We worked on it and got to a deal we thought was good for both parties. I think we’re both happy with it. I’m just real excited. The organization has taken a lot of steps in the right direction and I wanted to be a part of it for the next steps that we hopefully take in the next few years.

Chris Mannix examines OKC’s defensive issues so far: “Expectations were high for Oklahoma City coming into this season. After winning 50 games in the regular season and stretching the Lakers to six games in the opening round of the playoffs, the Thunder looked poised to make a big jump. But they opened the season 3-3 and were drilled at home by Utah by 21 and in L.A. by the Clippers by 15. The early season inconsistency seemed to mirror the play of Durant, who shot 39.4 percent in the teams first six games.” Keep Reading…

Cole Aldrich has been a healthy inactive the last few games. He’s been in a suit while Byron Mullens and D.J. White have gotten the nods as the last big men on the bench.

To which I say … so what?

People here and elsewhere have raised an eyebrow at minimum that Aldrich has been such a non-factor so far. Some have expressed alarm. And they have ammunition. Aldrich has less-than-modest stats through the Thunder’s first 14 games. He’s appeared in only five, averaging one point, two boards and two fouls in 10 minutes. He hasn’t seen the floor in six games and hasn’t dressed for almost that many. Of the players taken before Aldrich (No. 11) in the draft this summer, only injured Golden State forward Ekpe Udoh has played in fewer games (zero).

But the reality is that Aldrich’s status now has no bearing on his future value to the team. Scott Brooks said so himself by characterizing it as simply suiting up one young player instead of another, although you wouldn’t expect him to say anything else even if it wasn’t true. That said, I believe him. First and foremost, you can’t judge (almost) any lottery pick after only 14 games in his first season. And the deeper you dig, the more you find to make you realize there’s no reason to worry about Aldrich. Keep Reading…

OKLAHOMA CITY, November 23, 2010 – The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Nick Collison to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Nick Collison has shown an unwavering commitment to our organization through his willingness to accept various roles and his dedication to his teammates throughout his seven-year career with our franchise,” said Presti. “He brings a smart, physical, and hard working approach to our defense and is one of our most active players in the community. We are thrilled that Nick will remain a core member of our team and continue his career with the franchise that drafted him.”

Collison is currently averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in six games since returning from a bruised right knee that caused him to miss the first eight games of the season. The 6-10 Kansas University product holds career averages of 7.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 460 career NBA games, all with the Thunder organization. Collison entered the 2010-11 season among the franchise’s all-time career leaders in rebounds (8th, 3,013 career rebounds), blocks (10th, 309 career blocks), field goal percentage (3rd, .529) and games played (9th, 454 career games).

“I am thrilled to continue my career with the Thunder organization,” said Collison. “I have spent many years with the franchise and I am excited to continue building with this group of players. I am looking forward to what the future holds for this team and community.”

Collison, originally drafted 12th overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City franchise, was an Associated Press First Team All-America selection and Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior at Kansas. He was also named to the 2003 NCAA All-Final Four Team after leading Kansas to the Championship Game. The Iowa Falls native left KU as the second leading scorer (2,097 points) and third leading rebounder (1,143 rebounds) in school history.